s_knight8
21 years ago
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/107840547729241.xml
They came Wednesday to the Rose Garden to vent their frustration, to
show that life after Bonzi is better for the Trail Blazers, but by the
end of the night, there was only silence.
A smaller than expected crowd of 16,511 booed Bonzi Wells every chance
it had, but Wells had the final word, torching his former team for 28
points -- including four three-pointers -- to lead the Memphis
Grizzlies to a 97-88 win that seemed to gut the hopes of the Blazers'
playoff run.
"I think the booing added incentive and gave me a little more pep in
my step," Wells said. "I hope they boo me for the rest of my career."
"This definitely hurt," forward Ruben Patterson said. "But now we have
to fight and get ready for Rasheed. But either way you look at it,
this is a disappointing loss."
"Tonight, it was the other team that looked like it was playing for
something, and we were just going through the motions," guard Damon
Stoudamire said. "Shoot, tonight we had the crowd excited, there was a
lot of energy in the gym, and we were out there just floating. This is
the result of what I was saying after the Dallas game. It just looks
like we are content with playing better recently. These games are too
important to be like that."
Derek Anderson, who missed the past two practices and Wednesday's
shootaround with the flu, started and played 34 minutes despite being
"50 percent" healthy. He finished 2 of 12 from the field, shooting
enough bricks that he said, "I could have made a new building in the
projects."
The Blazers are in 10th place in the West, 11/2 games behind Utah for
ninth and three games behind Denver for the eighth and final playoff
spot.
"Denver lost (Tuesday) night, right?" Patterson asked.
Added Anderson:
"You really hate to do it, but we have to look at (the scoreboard)
now. We have to find someone to set our sights on."
They came Wednesday to the Rose Garden to vent their frustration, to
show that life after Bonzi is better for the Trail Blazers, but by the
end of the night, there was only silence.
A smaller than expected crowd of 16,511 booed Bonzi Wells every chance
it had, but Wells had the final word, torching his former team for 28
points -- including four three-pointers -- to lead the Memphis
Grizzlies to a 97-88 win that seemed to gut the hopes of the Blazers'
playoff run.
"I think the booing added incentive and gave me a little more pep in
my step," Wells said. "I hope they boo me for the rest of my career."
"This definitely hurt," forward Ruben Patterson said. "But now we have
to fight and get ready for Rasheed. But either way you look at it,
this is a disappointing loss."
"Tonight, it was the other team that looked like it was playing for
something, and we were just going through the motions," guard Damon
Stoudamire said. "Shoot, tonight we had the crowd excited, there was a
lot of energy in the gym, and we were out there just floating. This is
the result of what I was saying after the Dallas game. It just looks
like we are content with playing better recently. These games are too
important to be like that."
Derek Anderson, who missed the past two practices and Wednesday's
shootaround with the flu, started and played 34 minutes despite being
"50 percent" healthy. He finished 2 of 12 from the field, shooting
enough bricks that he said, "I could have made a new building in the
projects."
The Blazers are in 10th place in the West, 11/2 games behind Utah for
ninth and three games behind Denver for the eighth and final playoff
spot.
"Denver lost (Tuesday) night, right?" Patterson asked.
Added Anderson:
"You really hate to do it, but we have to look at (the scoreboard)
now. We have to find someone to set our sights on."